CULVER, Ind. — A few observations from Notre Dame’s first 2015 preseason practice at Culver Academies on Thursday:
— Coach Brian Kelly was pleased with the cleanliness of Notre Dame’s offense on the first day of practice, and a lot of that credit goes to junior Malik Zaire.
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“He’s got real good management skills,” Kelly said. “He communicates effectively. You can see from the first day there’s not a lot of sloppiness from an offensive standpoint in terms of false starts. He’s got good command, good presence. It’s probably where I thought it would be in the first day.”
— Granted, this is without pads/contact, but sophomore Quenton Nelson took nearly all the first-team reps at left guard. Nelson and fellow sophomore Alex Bars are locked in probably the most prominent position battle of preseason camp, but don’t expect any final resolution on it until Notre Dame starts preparing for Texas in earnest in a few weeks.
— There weren’t any surprises with Notre Dame’s first-team defense and offense units. The starters: Cole Luke, KeiVarae Russell, Elijah Shumate, Max Redfield, James Onwualu, Joe Schmidt, Jaylon Smith, Isaac Rochell, Jarron Jones, Sheldon Day, Romeo Okwara; Will Fuller, Amir Carlisle, Chris Brown, Durham Smythe, Mike McGlinchey, Steve Elmer, Nick Martin, Quenton Nelson, Ronnie Stanley, Malik Zaire, Tarean Folston. Graduate student linebacker Jarrett Grace missed practice due to a class scheduling conflict with Notre Dame’s MBA program.
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— Senior C.J. Prosise took plenty of reps at running back with the first-team offense, though that’s more about getting him used to his new position than it is anything negative about Folston, who Kelly said Thursday would take on a larger role as a featured back in the Irish offense.
— Junior receiver Torii Hunter Jr. made two nice catches, reeling in a 40-yard touchdown by beating Max Redfield in one-on-one drills and making a one-handed catch in seven-on-seven drills later in practice. Hunter hasn’t been fully healthy for his first two preseason camps at Notre Dame, being limited by a broken leg in 2013 and a torn groin in 2014.